WALTHAM, Mass. – Spring practice for the 2015 Bentley University football season will get underway this coming Tuesday with coach Bill Kavanaugh having a number of goals as he prepares for his second fall at the helm.

When asked what those goals were, the first thing that the former Penn State Player Personnel Director mentioned was "finding new leadership for the 2015 team".

The Falcons, who closed out 2014 with four wins in their final five games, lost about 20 players from that club, including eight who were regulars in the starting lineup over multiple seasons and provided much of the leadership during Kavanaugh's inaugural season. That group included three-year starting QB and two-year captain Danny Guadagnoli.

Bentley's other 2014 captain, defensive tackle Bob Richman (North Attleboro/North Attleboro HS), is due back after recuperating from a knee injury that ended his senior campaign after three games. He had started 19 of the team's 20 previous games and had played in 34 in a row before going down.

Kavanaugh, during 15 sessions over the course of four weeks, will also be looking to build depth across the board at all positions, to improve play at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and to find playmakers on offense, defense and special teams.

Another aim for Kavanaugh is to find a replacement for Guadagnoli at quarterback. While there are five QBs on the roster and without mentioning names, he indicated that three have set themselves ahead of the rest entering the spring

Rising junior CJ Scarpa (Andover/Andover HS) is the only one, other than Guadagnoli, who saw action behind center last fall. He completed three of four passes in his limited playing time.

Significant losses, other than Guadagnoli (9175 career passing yards), include wide receiver Jeff Hill (200 career catches for 3,489 yards and 37 TDs), return specialist Jet Kollie (946 all-purpose yards), center Jack Donovan, All-Conference linebackers Kyle Young (273 career tackles) and Blaine Hopwood (253 career tackles), cornerback Brad Keirstead (3 interceptions) and strong safety Nick McCarthy (65 tackles, 3 INT in 2014).

Key returnees on offense include receivers Sean Myers (Foxboro/Roxbury Latin School), Chris Calvanese (Norfolk/Xaverian Bros. HS) and Chris Walsh (Attleboro/Attleboro HS), a trio who combined for 80 catches for 1151 yards and nine TDs last year. Junior-to-be Martin Bannerman (Pawtucket, R.I./La Salle Academy) will be looked upon to step up after rushing for a team-best 361 yards last year.

On the line, two-year starter Eric Beckwith (North Attlelboro/North Attleboro HS) was a second-team All-Conference performer last fall as a sophomore.  Ryan Anger (Worcester/St. John's Shrewsbury) and Matt Biscardi (Holbrook, N.Y./St. Anthony's HS), each of whom will be entering their senior year, have starting experience.

The returnees on defense include second-team All-Northeast-10 end Paul Norris (North Attleboro/North Attleboro HS), junior middle linebacker Bryan Hardy (Barnstable/Barnstable HS) and junior free safety Sam McDonald (Norfolk/King Phillip Reg. HS). Norris led the 2014 Falcons in sacks (7) and tackles for losses (13), Hardy had the most tackles (103) by a Bentley player since 2009, and McDonald has nine career interceptions.

Also back are senior placekicker Michael Baron (Medfield/Roxbury Latin School), who was second on the team in scoring with 70 points, and junior punter Tyler Ford (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan HS), who set a school record with a 39.9 average.

Competition will be a big part of the spring practice for the Falcons and Kavanaugh has scheduled Competition Day for the three Saturdays (Mar. 28, Apr. 11, 18) his team will be on the field. The slate also includes four Tuesday afternoons and four Wednesday evening sessions.

Bentley will open the 2015 season on the road Sept. 5 at Mercyhurst University.